I am a writer--or at least I aspire to be. And writing requires solitude, quiet, tranquility.

In the past I would wait for these elusive elements to come to me before I could write. However, the more kids I had, the less they appeared. Consequently, I have learned to write through the racket. And while the happy noise is easier to embrace, the unhappy is simply part of it.

Now that I have launched three of my nine kids, I know that gradually, yet quickly, both kinds of clamor will fade, and nothing will remain except peace and quiet.